BACKGROUND: Tuina for knee osteoarthritis has obvious curative effect, and has been widely used in clinical practice due to its characteristics, including simple operation, popularization, and good comfort. OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect of the combination of pressing points of local acupoint plus adjustion of the knee joint in a sitting position in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis under “emphasizing both bones and tendons” as the guiding ideology of Tuina. METHODS: Ninety-one patients with knee osteoarthritis were randomly divided into a treatment group (n=46) and a control group (n=45). The treatment group was given the pressing points of local acupoint plus adjustion of the knee joint in a sitting position, and the control group was treated with oral celecoxib for 4 weeks. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, the pressure pain thresholds, the Visual Analogue Scale scores at rest and at movement, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score were analyzed before and after treatment. The total clinical efficacy and adverse reaction index score were observed. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Guanghua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine on June 5, 2017, approval number: 2017-k-11. All participants were informed of the trial protocol and process, and signed informed consent. This study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/searchproj.aspx, ChiCTR1900022928) on May 4, 2019. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After 4 weeks of treatment: (1) The scores of WOMAC in both groups were improved compared with the baseline, and those in the treatment group decreased more significantly (P < 0.05); (2) the pressure pain thresholds of two groups were significantly improved compared with the baseline, and the treatment group was better than the control group (P < 0.05); (3) the Visual Analogue Scale scores at rest and at movement in the treatment group were decreased significantly compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05); (4) the scores of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in terms of depression and anxiety in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05); (5) the total effective rate of the treatment group was 93.18%, and the control group was 81.40%, with significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05); (6) there was no significant difference in the adverse reaction scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). Overall, the above results indicate that with “emphasizing both bones and tendons” as the guiding ideology of Tuina, the clinical effect of the pressing points of local acupoint and adjustion of the knee joint in a sitting position in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis is better than that of oral celecoxib. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]